


Tinker Toys

by sexuallydisoriented (Cheezalot)



Category: Star Trek: Deep Space Nine
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-19
Updated: 2014-02-19
Packaged: 2018-01-13 00:50:17
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,016
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1206706
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cheezalot/pseuds/sexuallydisoriented
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After returning from the Dominion camp and taking his life back from the Changeling who replaced him, Julian is even more of an open book. Jadzia feels that it is her civic duty to intervene.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Tinker Toys

**Author's Note:**

> Super duper mega thanks to tumblr user thedragonsire for an excellent beta!

            “I’m telling you, Julian, if Worf makes one more bad joke about me almost losing a part of his opera collectionI’m going to…I’m going to cut out his tongue!” Jadzia waved her arms aggressively as she spoke, miraculously managing to keep her mug of bloodwine from spilling across the table. “It’s not like I lose _everything,_ you know! I rarely ever misplace anything! At least not when I’m on duty...” She paused, furrowing her brows. “Then again, there was that time with Chief O’Brien’s toolkit…”

            Across the round table, Julian picked absently at a plate of oddly colored fruit, no doubt from whichever freighter captain Quark had managed to do business with this week. The doctor’s attention was clearly elsewhere – he hardly even looked at his plate as he poked at it, instead opting to stare distantly over Jadzia’s shoulder. His amber eyes were foggy and distant, as if he were very deep inside his own head despite the cacophony of things happening around him.

            Dax waved a hand in front of Julian’s face, trying to break his distracted stare. It didn’t work, much to her frustration.     

            “JULIAN!”

            “Hm?” Dr. Bashir’s eyes stayed focused on that arbitrary point behind Jadzia, but at least she now had a small modicum of his attention.

            She huffed in annoyance. “Have you heard any of what I’ve been saying?”

            “A little…something about the Chief and opera, right?”

            Dax sighed. “Close enough,” she conceded. She twisted around in her chair, suddenly not _as_ interested in chastising the doctor for his rudeness and more curious about what had been holding Julian’s attention for what felt like their entire dinner conversation, if it could be called that.

            She scanned the bar curiously, seeing nothing of particular interest. A crowd of Nausicaans had been sweeping the Dabo tables all night, causing Quark to cautiously hover behind them and occasionally comment about their “surprisingly” good fortune. Besides them and the unusual sight of Morn playing darts, Dax found nothing out of the ordinary.

            “I’m sorry, Dax – er, Jadzia, I didn’t mean to lose focus like that.” Julian had taken hold of Dax’s arm as she turned around, probably a little more forcefully than he meant to. His voice was forcibly calm with ill-concealed panic lying therein, and Jadzia couldn’t help but let out a small chuckle at the doctor’s inability to control himself.

            Turning back around, Jadzia smiled. “Don’t worry about it, Julian. I’ll forgive you…if you tell me who you were staring at.” She raised an eyebrow, her previously friendly smile slowly turning conniving.

            Julian’s jaw fell slack momentarily as he felt a fresh wave of panic. His eyes flashed back to the not-so-arbitrary point behind Dax with which he’d been so engrossed, and even _though_ it was a momentary glance, it was enough for Dax to have a target.

            “Wait, Jadzia –” Julian tried to turn her around again but realized his efforts would be in vain.

            _Oh_.

            It was all Dax could do to keep from laughing out loud. Her targeted search had taken her to a small table close to the doorway. It was partially shrouded by the shadow cast by Quark’s upper level, but two distinct faces could still be made out even from across the room. It was Garak and Ziyal.

            Ziyal caught Jadzia’s eye briefly, smiling hesitantly as the Trill waved happily before turning back to her own conversational partner.

            “Dax…”

            “Shut up, Julian.” She crouched over the table excitedly. “So when were you planning on sucking it up and _telling me_ you’re in love with the station’s tailor?”

            Julian leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms, trying and failing to prevent his face from turning a profound shade of red. “I’m not in _love_ with him!”

            Dax continued to stare at Julian, calling him out on his bullshit with her eyes only.

            “It’s more like…casual infatuation…” He muttered the last two words, turning even redder as he shuffled awkwardly in his chair.

            “I knew it!” Dax slapped the table excitedly, causing some of her bloodwine to leap from her mug to the table.

            Julian rolled his eyes. “I know! You’ve been looking at me like…like you know some dirty little secret since Garak and I got back from that Dominion prison camp! Really, between the two of us I would expect thatyou with your nine lifetimes of experiences to be better at hiding this sort of thing than I am, but I'm beginning to think that’s not quite true!”

            “Perhaps not, but you’re certainly no good at it either!” Jadzia’s mind was whirring through a hundred different ways she could meddle. “Believe it or not, Julian, your poker face is terrible It’s no wonder Quark kicked your ass at Tongo.”

            Julian scoffed. “Just…don’t tell anyone, okay?” Still simmering in embarrassment, the doctor’s wide eyes remained fixed on the table.

            Dax grinned. “I promise I shall not interfere by making your feelings public.”

            “Thank you.”

            A beat passed in silence. Dax bit her tongue to keep from giggling.

            “Wait a second –”

            “Don’t you have to go back to work soon?” Dax interjected, unable to keep levity from her tone.

            “Um, well, yes, but –”

            “Well, go! It wouldn’t do to have you late to your shift now that everyone knows you’ve got an internal chronometer.”

            “Wait, Dax,”

            “Shoo!” She waved him away from the table, giggling at the frustrated terror and confusion that crossed her friend’s face as he acquiesced and made for the infirmary. Dax waited until he was almost gone before she yelled “Don’t worry, Julian! I won’t tell anyone!” Julian glared over his shoulder, and if looks could kill, he would have killed everyone in the bar. Dax laughed, pleased with herself. Most everyone turned back to their own meals as the doctor stormed away, but Dax managed to catch Garak’s confused eye and wink before he turned back to Ziyal.

            _I never said I wouldn’t_ do _anything…_

            As Dax sauntered out of the bar, it briefly occurred to her that she would soon be making Curzon very proud.


End file.
